CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- A Cape Coral man is in custody, Friday, after allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl for several months.
Romeo Sanchez, 30, was arrested at his job at Carrabas on Pine Island Road, Thursday. According to his arrest report, the 14-year-old victim's adult sister contacted law enforcement after discovering numerous sexual photos exchanged between Sanchez and the juvenile.
When confronted, the victim said Sanchez picked her up in the middle of the night on several occasions for sex. A neighbor confirmed this story, when he told police he had seen the teen leave her house in the middle of the night, getting in a green Ford Mustang belonging to Sanchez, and then sneak back into her house at 4 or 5 am. The victim states Sanchez even advised her to keep their relationship a secret "because of their age difference and he would go to jail for 10 years."
Officers served Sanchez a search warrant in April of 2017, in which they seized his cell phone and car for evidence.
Neighbors in the area were disturbed by the allegations, and said they had noticed police investigating. "I've seen a lot of police around this area in the last month," said one neighbor. "I don't like anybody like that being anywhere near my neighborhood because I have children. There are children everywhere here."
The parent added how important it is to watch who one's children are hanging out with. He told Fox 4 he puts parental controls on his kid's cell phones. "That's where being involved comes in, because then you know who your kids are hanging around. You can keep an eye on their social media, you can keep and eye on what they're doing and who they're hanging around."
Sanchez is charged with Lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12-16, cruelty toward a child/promoting sexual performance by a child, possession of obscene material, obscene communication/using a computer to lure a child, and obscene communication/travel to meet after use of a computer to lure a child. He will appear in court on July 24th.
